Wild Fork Foods Opinions and Caveats

[ajgrills]

Recently started buying meats from Wild Fork Foods. They are a frozen meat shipper out of Florida, and they have started opening brick and mortar locations, including where I am in SoCal. All the meat at the brick and mortar stores is also frozen.

The basics are tons of selection of cuts from choice to wagyu, as well as fish, pork (including Berkshire) and very good prices compared to all of my other local sources.

I was concerned about the frozen part at first, but after several cooks, I have not detected any quality problems. Quality of everything I've tried has been inline with what I'd expect of the same cuts from a quality butcher. Prices are as good or better than Costco/Sam's Club.

So far I've done Prime Picanha, Prime Tri-tip, Berkshire Pork Tenderloin, 3 bone Prime Rib Roast, Wild Caught Key West Shrimp and some killer pepper bacon. Quality was good across the board and no complaints.

Would like to hear other's experiences and opinions.

One big Caveat from my most recent trip to their store: I came home with a Tri-Tip that sure seemed smaller than the label weight. I already had another one from them in my freezer that was labelled at a lower weight, but was clearly heavier after I thawed them both for a cook last weekend.

So I threw them on my food scale. Turns out both weighed in lower on my scale than the label. First one was 1/3 of a pound lower. But the 2nd one....that was a full 1.15 lbs lighter than labeled. I'm not going to rule out my food scale being dodgy/cheap. But I tared it and retested a few times to confirm.

I wrote to their customer service, and no response after a week. Their service is notoriously slow to respond if at all. They are owned by the Brazilian meet conglomerate JBS. But so are a ton of other meat producers/sellers here in the U.S.

Plan to take the attached pics to the store manager on my next visit and see what they have to say . Will certainly be monitoring this in the future. Their prices are so good that it may not matter in the long run. Interested to hear what you think.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Their customer service is horrid if you can't get someone on the phone, unless they open a brick and mortar near me I will never use them again. And your weight issue is just another reason to add to my list of why that might not even happen.

[ajgrills]

I plan to stop by the store today after work and see if I can get someone to do something about it.

I did measure several other products of theirs from my freezer last night, and they came out okay.

[Jfrosty27]

I’ve been buying from WF online for about a year now. No problems at all. Love the meat quality. Prices are great on most things. I also joined the unlimited club for free shipping. It works out that you break even on that with three orders. I order about every 60 days so a winner for me.

[ajgrills]

Yeah. I'm bummed because I have been very happy with them so far. Hoping they will make this right.

I did calibrate my scale last night and it is weighing fine. Of the two tri-tips above, the one labeled lighter was obviously heaver when you picked them up in both hands and compared them. So I'm hoping I can chalk this up to a fluke.

[bbqLuv]

Thank you for the tip and pictures. Claim verified.

[johnec00]

I've never ordered from Wild Fork online, but I've been shopping their nearby brick and mortar store since it opened 6-8 months ago. I've found their quality and prices as good or better than anything else around here. Their selection is the same as on their website plus a few things. Their prime beef is excellent and otherwise unavailable. We've had prime and choice strip and ribeye steaks, prime picanha, tri-tip and short ribs. Also had lamb steaks, pork back ribs, pork "NY roast" (AKA loin roast) various varieties of chicken, duck breasts, and salmon (sockeye and "atlantic").

Can't say I've ever checked the actual weight vs label, but I will in the future.

I've emailed their customer service twice with two different questions and got very prompt replies (once about some of their beef being pin tenderized (they have stopped this practice) and once about why they say beef must be cooked to 165º. The latter went through several levels of personnel, and my interpretation of the answer is that it does not, but their lawyers make them label it that way.

Everything I've gotten is USA sourced except the "Atlantic" Salmon (Chile) and the lamb (Australia).

It's safe to say that I'm a happy customer.

Added plus, they sell Fogo Charcoal in the store.

[ajgrills]

Yeah, I like them too. Only other thing I'd like to see is for them to add some more info on their sourcing. Items have USDA stamp and say "Product of USA" or elsewhere. But that's about it. I'd like to see them naming ranches, etc. But all the product I've bought has been good.

[Uncle Bob]

Okay, a slightly different perspective. They have no stores near me, but ship from the Dallas area so most often I get the next day from ordering. I started with them about two years ago. In the beginning the choices were less than today, but the quality was at least as good as local and often better, especially since they offered cuts not often available here in the sticks. The Berkshire pork was a wonderful treat. Then the combined realities of rapid growth and pandemic related issues (probably) began to cause both the quality of product, and the level of customer service to decline. One order of Berkshire ribeye style chops I ordered for a planned party came with half the chops being poorly cut or more than 50% fat. Their customer service response was still mostly timely at that time and they gave me a refund, but that was a harbinger of continued decline in overall quality. I see from FB group postings that, like noted above, getting through to a customer service rep in a timely manner is much more difficult. Perhaps that's a matter of the current employment market, as is the sloppy butchering outcomes that the meat cuts show, but prices don't appeal when quality is sacrificed. I used to order monthly, but this week is the first order I've placed with them in 6 months. I now only order items that are unusual to my local marketplace, and have shown to be more consistent in quality, mostly seafood items. I no longer have faith in their beef and pork products because of unreliability in quality.......sometimes good, sometimes bad is not tolerable. They have a place in the supply chain for what I like to consume, just much less than they once earned.

[ajgrills]

It definitely helps to be able to go to the store and pick your own pieces for marbling and cut, etc. Also, I've heard that when you order online, that you don't know the weight you're getting until it arrives. They put a hold on your card for the max weight of the item, then charge you for the actual pieces that get shipped. Have not verified that though.

[Huskee]

I've used them only once so far- some salmon fillets and they were gorgeous and cheaper than my local supermarket. Also got some scallops but haven't cooked them yet. Bummer about the lower weights, that's crazy.

[ajgrills]

Yep. Hoping it's a fluke. Will report back if I get a resolution. Been a week since I contacted customer service. Stopping by the store today.

[58limited]

So far I have not had any problems with them. Love the Berkshire pork, the salmon and tri tips have all been good. Their 8 bone lamb racks, although smaller, are much cheaper in price than at my local HEB, which only carries them for certain holidays.

EDIT: just checked their website, their lamb rack price went up (and weight went down) so not nearly as good a deal as last month.

[ajgrills]

The Berkshire pepper bacon is awesome. Recommend.

[Jfrosty27]

The one thing I really like about WF is the bill for actual weight of the item unlike the other sites which bill a flat rate based on an average weight. You always know that you are paying only for what you received.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

except in this case that might not actually be true if the weight charged is the label and the label is wrong.

[Jfrosty27]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs makes a valid point. I didn’t think of that. Guess I will need to put new batteries in my scale!

[ecowper]

Flip side of that is that when I order from SRF, I always get at the top end of the weight range they specify. And sometimes well over that top end.

[Uncle Bob]

Apparently this weight thing has been "a thing" as the FB page admin for WF posted this morning:
"Hi All- wanted to share some information from our Head of Production related to the cross post and comment about product weights being accurate. I couldn’t comment on that post because the original poster turned off commenting.
I want to start by saying please always send a photo on a scale to __________________________ if you feel this has happened. We continue to add more team members rapidly because we understand we have not held up our high customer service standards for the last couple of months.
On to the post and comments from our Head of Product:
Tri tips specifically are only around 2-2.5 #. So one that’s over 1 pound less; it might be his scale. Our scales are certified by the state. We have strict scale weight test protocols and our standard deviations are fractions of a pound. His is stating ~15% and ~50% off.
I’ll check with the plant to scan our data - we keep records of every weight check and can see if anything stands out.
Each piece/package is weighed and the scale prints the net weight. Quality Assurance spot checks throughout each run.
Hope that helps shed some light!
-tracy"

[ajgrills]

Hey Bob. Thanks for that. I didn't have that [email protected] before. Also, can you link that FB page where she posted that? I didn't post on that page but did on some other groups I'm in.

[Uncle Bob]

ajgrills yeah, it's titled "Wild fork Unlimited Members" so if you're not a paid Unlimited customer you won't be cleared to enter the group. I probably should have blanked out that email addy too as that's supposedly reserved for Unlimited members as well.

[ajgrills]

Yeah, I'm not in that group because I don't need to ship since I have a store now . Sounds like somebody shared my post from another group into that one. But they haven't reached out to me yet. I gave the group a join, we'll see if they let me in or not . Thx.

[GolfGeezer]

Even though there is a WF store about 20 minutes away, I ordered a rack of Beef Dino ribs. This was about a few months ago. The ribs came very frozen, 2 days after the order. So, impressed with the packaging. I was a bit disappointed with the thickness and the large layer of fat in one section that I had to rim down some more. I used these for the Bonsey memorial cook:

Mr. Bones Memorial Cook! - Pitmaster Club (amazingribs.com)

The 'thickness" is problematic I think, probably just luck of the draw on the specific rack you get. I had similar issue with these kind of ribs from Creekstone, but I liked the tenderness and flavor of these. I do not recall checking the weight as the price was based on getting a rack.

All in all, I definitely will try them again. Next time, I'll go to the store. Always more fun to browse a meat counter!!

[ajgrills]

Yeah, I prefer to look at the cuts first. Did a Prime Rib from them two weekends ago for the first time. Came out great, but had a little too much fat left on near the bottom of the cap.

[McFlyfi]

I joined the "club" last November. I ordered about a hundred bucks worth of stuff, all of it cheaper than I can get here, with free shipping, and some stuff that you can only pay outrageous prices for locally (picanha at 25 bucks a pound). Since they opened the Westlake store (the one ajgrills visited) I only go to the store.

My experience has been very good both in store and on line. The prices in store and on line are the same, which shocked me, as Westlake is a pretty upscale neighborhood.

Chicken- Cheaper than Ralphs
Many cuts of beef- cheaper than Ralphs
Some cuts of beef that are essentially unavailable here (picanha), and MUCH cheaper than the lone butcher shop that carries it.
Pork- cheaper than Ralphs.

The lone standout that isn't cheaper locally is tri-tip. Here in SoCal, tri-tip can generally be had for around 7 bucks a pound, and regularly is on sale at $4.98.

The one complaint I had was a picanha that I ordered on line (before the store was opened) had the fat cap that was easily more than half of the total cut. I think whoever cut it, didn't cut it in the right place to capture all of the meat part. Easily avoided by going to the store and picking my own out.
I can't comment on the weight/label issue. but I will check the next time I get some more meat.

[McFlyfi]

Green Acres in Simi Valley has good meats, but really pricey.
You can get picanha there, but it'll run you $45.00. I used to buy pork belly there too, but it was $6.99/lb.
Costco in either Simi or Westlake has whole pork belly for $4.29. I am wondering if the WFF Berkshire belly is worth it at $7.98/lb for making bacon, they sell their Berkshire bacon at $12.98/lb. I'll have to try that before getting the belly.

[ajgrills]

McFlyfi I have varying luck at Green Acres. I'm getting that WFF Berkshire Bacon for $10 I think. It's worth every penny.

[McFlyfi]

I just got a package of that bacon on my way home yesterday, man is that stuff good!
I bought it mainly to see if it would be worth buying the Berkshire belly they sell to make bacon with. It's definitely worth a try.

[johnec00]

A couple of recent observations RE, my reply above:

They appear to have added an ungraded beef steak category called "USDA Inspected" that is also contains up to 11% "water & vegetable marinade" and that is "needle tenderized". The fact that its needle tenderized is not mentioned on their web "description", so if you're ordering online and can't read the label you don't know.

They previously emailed that they no longer "pin tenderized", but now I noted that the chuck roast ( and maybe others) is now "blade tenderized". Guess that's not the same as pin tenderized \s.

They no longer list the country of origin in the web description, so unless you can read the picture of the label in their listing, you don't know.

Not really unacceptable, but disappointing.

I went ahead and picked up a package of the "USDA inspected, needle tenderized, marinated" NY strips. Will pasteurize sous vide at 131º for a couple of hours and pan sear as an experiment. Admittedly, though, if you account for the 11% water, the USDA inspected is actually a bit more expensive than the choice NY.

[GolfGeezer]

On this "Inspected, but not graded", this from USDA "Although inspection for safety is mandatory, grading of meat and poultry, which is done by United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), is voluntary. There is no federal requirement that meat or poultry be graded. If a meat company wants their meat to be graded, they must pay AMS for the service (inspection is federally funded). Some meat companies, grocery stores grade their meat themselves.."

[ajgrills]

FINAL UPDATE: I never heard back from customer service, or the WFF employee who posted about the incident in the private Wild Fork Unlimited group. I did go back and see the store manager. Unfortunately, he was very dismissive and just asked me what I wanted out of this. I explained that what I wanted was to have trust in WFF for future shopping. He said things like "we have 600+ marked items in the store, so 1 or 2 mistakes isn't bad". His attitude was obvious that I was a PITA. I could not have been more polite. He offered me a $10 gift card (I was overcharged by $11+). I said sure and bought a pot pie with it and left.

I really like the selection of products and prices there. I will most likely shop there again, but will keep a very close eye on weights, and if this happens again, I will certainly file a complaint with weights and measures.

They badly need to address their terrible service. Their own staff admitted that service was a real problem. But then the manager said, "Customer service doesn't handle in store issues", while his handling of the issue was equally terrible.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

take a portable scale with ya next trip

[ajgrills]

rickgregory I know what you mean and would normally take that stance, but I can get so much there that I can't get locally and at good prices that I don't want to cut off my nose to spite my beer belly. So...one more chance.

However, as johnec00 said, I am keeping a close on their sourcing and wish it was more transparent.

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs Hah. Maybe. The manager did tell me that they had a scale in the back but implied that asking to use it was crazy.

[Huskee]

Hopefully that employee will be corrected directly by his superior(s) for this, or shown the door. Completely unacceptable, especially if you were being polite. This unfortunately is why so many "Karens" (as the internet refers to them) exist and blow up the whole scene needlessly, to proactively head off this type of dismissal. I wouldn't refuse to go back, I would optimistically hope natural attrition whittles down their workforce to only the ones who belong there.

[Jfrosty27]

I just received my latest order from these folks. Just 26 hours from order to delivery at my door. All items frozen like rocks. I AM a member of their Unlimited Club. But even before I joined that, all deliveries were the same. Quality of the product has always been terrific. Love these guys.

Wings: 2.5lbs x2 pkgs
Flat Iron steak x 2.
Beef Sort ribs 3 bone thick cut
Veal cutlets
Marsala sauce x 2
Berkshire bone in NY chops x 2
Shaved Ribeye
All for $114 delivered. 👍👌👏

You might want to try them out. No I don’t work for them. 🤣

[DaveD]

I have also had nothing but good experience with them thus far, nine orders now. One time the delivery lacked one of the items I ordered; I emailed to inform, had the refund within 24 hours. One order never made it to me, got swallowed up in UPSland somewhere; they credited me back on the day after it was supposed to arrive, and I started over, had the stuff 2 days later. Everything else by the numbers.

[jhapka]

Questionable weights aside, I live an hour and a half from Duluth and three and a half hours from MSP. Only Walmart and a regional grocer in town. Really poor meat and produce. Click giving up on online really hurts so I think I’m giving wild fork a try.